FTC Seeks Views on Proposed Update of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines

On April 20, 2010, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released for public comment a proposed revision of the Horizontal Merger Guidelines. The updated Guidelines, which outline how the federal antitrust agencies evaluate the likely competitive impact of mergers and whether those mergers comply with U.S. antitrust law, are being revised jointly by the FTC and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The Guidelines were issued by the two agencies in 1992 and were last revised in 1997. The revisions are designed to more accurately reflect the way the FTC and DOJ currently conduct merger reviews.

Public comments are being accepted until May 20, 2010.

The FTC's announcement, a link to the revised Guidelines, and instructions for submitting comments are available here.